Tap List | Big Rip Taproom Temporarily Closes North Kansas City Brewery Cites Licensing Delays
Published August 8th, 2023 at 11:00 AM
Above image credit: Due to licensing snafus, Big Rip Brewing Co. is closed until further notice. (Courtesy | VolunCheers KC)Citing ongoing delays in the license renewal process, Big Rip Brewing Co.’s taproom will be closed until further notice.
“We don’t anticipate to be closed for very long, but will post updates as we know them,’’ the brewery posted Friday on Facebook. “If you would like to support The Big Rip while we are unable to sell alcohol, or make a donation to help support our staff during this time, please visit our online store!”
The first sign of trouble emerged on July 16, when Big Rip announced that “there was a mix up when we renewed our liquor license and the State did not include our Sunday license with the renewal.”
As a result, the taproom has been closed on Sundays since July 16. As of Friday, it’s closed altogether until further notice.
Although Big Rip expects the closure to be temporary, a couple of local breweries have jumped in to help the North Kansas City brewery out.
Red Sash Brewing and Double Shift Brewing, both located in the Crossroads, have shared the news with their audience. They’re encouraging their customers to buy merch or leave a donation to help Big Rip out while they can’t sell any beer. All donations will be given to staff members since they’re currently without pay while the brewery is closed.
If you’d like to help Big Rip out by either buying some merch or donating to their staff members, you can do so by visiting this link.
Beer Releases
Boho Brewing — 15425 Old Town Drive, Parkville, Missouri — surprised customers with another new release. The new beer is a 6.4% ABV double dry-hopped New England IPA. The IPA boasts Simcoe, Cascade, Citra and Mosaic hops. The first sip will have you thinking it’s a West Coast IPA with a piney, resinous flavor. Those flavors then lead into classic juicy NEIPA with flavors of citrus and pineapple and a sweet finish.
Tall Trellis Brew Co. — 25600 W. Valley Pkwy., Olathe, Kansas — took one of their old homebrew recipes and turned it into a new professionally brewed beer. The new release is called Strat Ca$h Homie. It’s a 6.2% ABV hazy IPA featuring Strata, Cashmere and Sabro hops with a dash of Cascade hops from Kansas Hop Co. The beer has a medium body without being overly heavy. You can expect lots of tropical fruit in both the aroma and flavor of the beer.
Strange Days Brewing — 316 Oak St., Kansas City, Missouri — had a dual release this week. Both happen to be sour beers. The first one is Eyes on the Prize, a 5.6% ABV sour brewed with key lime, graham cracker crumbs, marshmallow creme and lactose. The beer isn’t overly sour with enough sweetness to pair with dessert. The second sour is Patio Bandito. It’s a 5% ABV Berliner Weiss made with strawberry and mango. The classic German beer is lightly tart instead of a mouth puckering punch. It’s highly refreshing and best meant to be consumed on the patio.
East Forty Brewing — 1201 W. Main St., Blue Springs, Missouri — released a new IPA to celebrate National IPA Day that took place last Friday. The 6% ABV New England IPA called Hop Bindle V10 uses BRU-1 and El Dorado hops. These help impart lots of tropical aromas along with flavors such as pineapple and watermelon with a soft mouthfeel throughout each sip.
Beer Events
Saturday, August 12
Apex Aleworks — 4356 S. Noland Road, Independence, Missouri — has another one of their fun, interactive homebrew classes scheduled. The class will cover the foundations of brewing via the brew in a bag system. The class is limited to just eight participants so everyone can have the maximum attention of the instructor. Once the class is over you’re invited into the taproom for one free beer. Registration will go through Aug 11 or whenever they reach eight participants.
Vine Street Brewing — 2010 Vine St., Kansas City, Missouri — is throwing a release party for one of their most anticipated releases. The beer is called Steel Fountains and is a hoppy amber wheat beer. There will be live music all night plus a live painting exhibition from local artist Warren Harvey. It’s the perfect event to celebrate live music, local art and delicious beer.
Sunday, August 13
Crane Brewing Co. — 6515 Railroad St., Raytown, Missouri — will be welcoming several local vendors for another one of their Sip & Shop small vendor pop-ups. The event will begin at 1 p.m. and go through 5 p.m. The vendors will be a collection of everything from books to candles to sweet treats and more. Be sure to grab your favorite Crane beer and partake in a fun shopping experience knowing you’re supporting local beer and local vendors.
Alex Andujar is a former beer sales rep turned personal trainer. When he’s not training clients you can find him trying new beers at many of Kansas City’s great local breweries.